Hair Release Problems Among Chinchillas

"This is Lauren on behalf of Expert Village. We are talking about "Fur Issues: Part Two". Fur slip is something that happens when a tuft of hair is released. It's a natural defense mechanism that a chinchilla has when they live in the wild. If a predator tries to go out after it, it can release part of its hair in little tufts and then the predator will have that left in their mouth and then hopefully let go of the chinchilla so it can get away. They also release hair in this way if they're in a fight or in a stressful situation. Sometimes they can do it just in their cage. Sometimes I'll come into a rescue situation and there'll be a chinchilla that has fur slip, because of some sort of a stress factor that's triggering it in the environment. Fur slip looks different than fur chewing in that it's a patch of hair that's actually missing. It looks like it's just slipped out from the rest of the hair. It takes awhile for it to grow back, but it can and will grow back. Stay with us for "Fur Issues: Part Three"."